52 Books in 52 Weeks (2012) discussion

Share your reviews for this week's books here.

As Yasmine did last year's, the same rules are here.


"In this thread, everyone will post their reviews/opinions of the book they have read this week AFTER you rate/review it on your page. The purpose of this is so everyone can see what you read this week and read your review without having to visit each profile. Some of you have their profiles locked, so this saves you the trouble of unlocking it.

ANY COMMENTS THAT ARE NOT RELATED TO THAT MATTER WILL BE DELETED.

The format will be like this:

Name of book.
Author.
n/5 stars.

"Your simple opinion/extended review/one word that expresses what you thought of the book. GO CRAZY! Anything counts. Don't feel pressured."

Link to your review.

Also, this allows us to be organized, so even if a member didn't log in for about a month, they can add the book they've read to the appropriate thread.

THANK YOU ALL!


EDIT:
As I've mentioned in the guidelines, one word or a simple opinion counts as a 'review'. I only called it that because Goodreads calls it that."


Now let's see your achievements, awesome people.

Napalm & Silly Putty
George Carlin
4/5 stars.



(AudioBook)

How would you NOT like a book wrote and narrated by George Carlin? No way!

George Carlin is really known for his weird sense of humor since ever. He is one of the best comedians this century and probably ever! There is no common sense and yet there is common sense, it is Carlin for God's sake.

Just, expect a lot of laughs, a lot of thinking and many many swearing words.

Book #5
Ladies and gentlemen by Adam Ross
4/5

After the first story I was ready to put the book down for good. It felt weak, and I figure the rest of the book was pointless. But, then I read the second story and realized the depth of it. The hidden meanings and all of philosophy lying there between the sentences.
I've never known a short story that could grip a reader so well, let alone a book full of them. A great read!

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I should've posted this last week ..

How to be an existentialist
Gary cox
4/5

A simplified explanation of existentialism , philosophical , and light. A good amount of information, handy for people with no or little philosophical background .

Title: Hunger Games
Author: Suzanne Collins

Loved, loved this book! What a wonderful book! I felt a kindred spirit with the main character. She was clever, witty and fascinating.The movie opens in March and I am looking forward to see if the book translates well into a movie. There should be a lot of good action from the book. I can't wait to read the second and third book. My love for Young adult books that started with Harry Potter continues with Hunger games. The book is also our book club selection for this month! I am looking forward to lovely discussion.

The Time Of My Life
by Cecelia Ahern
5/5

I have always considered Cecelia Ahern a great writer, and again, she didn't disappoint me in this book. She always mix reality with fantasy which give her books this touch of magic. This book is going straight to my favourite.

By Jeannette Walls
4/5

Liked this a lot more than I was expecting to. It sucked me in right away and I didn't put it down until I was finished. I'd definitely recommend it!

Thirteen Reasons Why
Jay Asher
4/5

The story was interesting, and the idea of the passed tapes too; however, I don't think the reasons why Hannah committed suicide are really that serious... first of all, there are many people that go through stuff that's ten times worse and they survive it. Second, high school is only a part of your life, and not the most important (even though a lot of people think otherwise) better things would come after. Third, no one should care that much about what people think of them... especially people who are not blood related, they shouldn't be put on that much of an important level.

Anyway, at the end of the day it's just a story and something has to happen in it or else it would be boring. It was generally an entertaining book and I didn't mind it, other than for my reasons stated above.

Book #5


By: Mitch Albom

5/5

Words cannot describe how moving and touching this novel is! It's about the powerful, pure & unconditional love & support of a mother to her son. It's about a kid who kept looking for his father's approval but never got it. It's about a man who lost everyone & everything he ever loved and cared about. For one more day; Is a novel about second chances at turning your life around, at making the right decisions.
An excellent read! mind-opening & life-changing!

Week 3


غازي القصيبي

3/5 stars
Jan 22, 2012

مجموعة من المقابلات أجريت مع غازي القصيبي حول مواضيع مختلفة.. الشعر والسياسة وحياته.. شخصية عظيمة!


أحمد العسيلي

3/5 stars
Jan 24, 2012

كتاب خفيف بلهجة مصرية بسيطة.. يحمل أفكار وتساؤلات كبيرة..


عبدالله المغلوث

2/5 stars
Jan 24, 2012

يدعو المغلوث -كعادته- إلى التفاؤل من خلال عرض قصص نجاح سعودية.. توقعت أن تكون قصص ملهمة أكثر من إنها توثيق لقصص نجاح عادية..


Elyn R. Saks

5/5 stars
Jan 27, 2012

This book offers a glance at a schizophrenic mind. The author, herself, is diagnosed with schizophrenia and she tells her story through The Center Cannot Hold. I was really amazed by the fact that she have managed to lead an accomplished life in spite of her severe illness and all the suffering she went through; it is hard to have no control over your own thoughts. I also was shocked by the way she was treated in earlier stages of her illness by some US hospitals. But, I liked how she dedicated her research career into raising questions over issues concerning law and the mentally ill. It was really a good, well-written and a moving book.

Book: كخه يا بابا
Author: عبد الله المغلوث
Genre: اجتماعي
Finished Date: 25.Jan.2012
Rating: ★★☆☆☆
Review: كتاب جيد لكن يعيبه الأسلوب

≈ لم أملك إلا أن أقارن بين أسلوب المغلوث وياسر حارب.. فرغم تشابه المحتوى إلا أن ياسر حارب تفوق في أسلوبه وأفكاره على المغلوث.. ≈

كتاب شكراً أيها الأعداء
د.سلمان العودة
من أفضل الكتب التي قمت بقراءتها و ان كان أوله لم يجذبني و يشدني كما فعل المنتصف و النهاية ، مليء بالاقتباسات و الحكم و يدعوا للتفكير و التنوير
٤/٥

ولا يزالون مختلفين
سلمان العودة

4/5

لم أتوقع الكتاب هكذا, يحكي عن الاختلاف وعن ضروريته وكيف يكون ...


http://dft.ba/-1GJ_

Cesar's Rules by Cesar Millan



When I got Bailey, my Pug Cross, he wasn't very well behaved and he would always take me for a walk around the block. He had several issues including dog aggression mainly due to the fact that his previous owner kept him inside her house most of the time.I have been making a big effort to train him and that's why I read this book. I read another great book around Christmas ( Feisty Fido) which really helped and I would recommend that to anybody who has a dog aggressive dog.

To anyone who doesn't know, Cesar Millan is the star and host of TV's The Dog Whisperer. I must admit I haven't really watched much of this show but I thought I'd see what he has to say in this book.

On the whole I found it to be very helpful. A lot of the book is focused on creating a good relationship with your dog and ensuring that her basic needs are met. He (rightly so) emphasises the need to give your dog, amongst other things, adequate exercise, play and motivation. The book also brings in the thoughts and expertise of other dog trainers who don't always see eye to eye with his methods.

I have definitely learned a lot from Cesar's Rules and am hoping to put that into practice with Bailey. Training a dog ( or rehabilitating a dog )as Cesar prefers to call it, takes practice, patience and a whole lot of love and understanding.


I am really glad I read this and am hoping to catch a few of his shows.


4 stars.



Blog Note ;

If anybody has noticed I now have changed my name on here and at Blogger and Twitter due to Copyright issues and my pseudonym is now Ally Atherton. I'm sorry for any confusion. Unfortunately there are a few Authors and poets out there called Paul Henry and I don't want any more confusion. Albert Atherton was my great Grandfather, a lovely man who was taken from this world at too young an age. I never met him , he died in the early twenties, but I fear he has become forgotten because he was a conscientious objector. A writer himself by all accounts, my pseudonym is dedicated proudly to him.


I hope he doesn't mind me messing around with his name a little ! RIP Great Grandad x

1.5/5
This must be the world's worst book, the only reason i was reading it is that i have to finish it to keep my book schedule on track. i hate it and i hate how the author stretches the book by describing silly stuff it just don't worth what i paid for! or even the time i spent reading it!

4/5
اعجبني جدا واقتبست منه الكثير الكثير

by Dan Brown
5/5

If you love suspense, mystery, and thriller, you're going to LOVE this book! You'll get so caught up in it and forget about anything else. It also makes you think and use your brain. Well that is what happened to me while reading it :)

Heroes by Robert Cormier

This is another one of those books which my son brought home from school, apparently it is part of his GCSE English curriculum. I wasn't really looking forward to it and I was thinking it was just going to be a war thiller.

Francis has come home from WW2 after suffering a horrendous disfigurement. He has his face covered in bandages and a scarf and goes back to the town where he grew up. Where other war veterans are thinking of ways to get their lives back together, Francis has other things on his mind. In his duffel bag is a gun and he has to use it on somebody.

This, my seventh read of the year, is a remarkable book, short and light but it packs an emotional punch.The story captures you from the start and we are left second guessing what is going to happen all the way through.It is brilliantly written and easily read.
There are some books that just grab you emotionally and this is one of them.

I was pretty amazed that the author Robert Cormier wrote this in his seventies and only got published in his forties. Bloody hell there's hope for me after all !


A pleasure to read 5/5

Incidentally my son wasn't too impressed, he didn't really like the ending. Having a 16 year old son is not easy at times and it was just good to have something to talk to him about ! Maybe I should buy him a few books.

Robert Lowell Selected Poems

I have always had a love hate relationship with poetry. I really don't like the kind of stuff like makes no sense whatsoever and is filled with nods to greek mythology and other so called 'intellectual' rambleshit. I don't want to read poetry if you have to have a masters degree in ancient history to understand it.

However this collection of poetry is superb. There were a few pieces at the beginning that tested my patience but the main bulk of the poetry in the collection are pretty amazing. Most of them are based on Robert's life as a young man and his family. There are lots of good poems to enjoy but my favourite was Night Sweat

An enthralling collection for anybody who likes poetry.


4/5

The Worst-Case Scenario Survival Handbook
by Joshua Piven, David Borgenicht

3 stars

A very informative guide for mostly near-death scenarios, unless you're an adventurer you may encounter at least one or two cases.
Nevertheless I doubt my ability to remember all these info when the real deal comes.

One Moment, One Morning

One moment, one morning.
Sarah Rayner.
4/5


It took me so long to finish this book. It's the reason I'm behind on my book challenge. It was boring as hell in the beginning. I hated myself for buying it.Sticking to my rule-finish what you start- I went on reading it. Only then I realized its beauty takes time to sink in. The way Rayner portrayed grief and loss was so raw and realistic. I marked it one point down for its uneventful pace.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Book#8

Title: Black Mamba Boy
Author: Nadifa Mohamed

3/5

I'd have to rate the book as borderline average. I don't usually have a hard time finishing book, but this took quite some time. I won't ask you not to read it, but it wasn't my cup of tea.

Title: Who Moved My Cheese?
Author: Spencer Johnson, Ken Blanchard (Foreword)
1\5

I tried to relate to the book but failed. Though, I may find it useful in the future.

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

قشتمر
نجيب محفوظ
3\5

يروي حكاية خمسة أصدقاء من الطفولة وحت الشيخوخة. تصوير شيّق لسلسلة الأحداث والتغيرات الاجتماعية والسياسي خلال السبعين عام.
"ينطوي التاريخ بما يحمل و يبقى الحب جديداً الى الأبد".

The Godfather
Mario Puzo
5/5

This has got to be one of the best books I've read :)
Since I've watched the movie quite a few times, I was expecting it to be all known and not new surprises, but the book has much details to the story. Some parts just didnt exist in the movie :) eg. Detailed backstories to why someone ended up the way they did and why they were with or against the Corleone family.

If someone wants to enjoy the Godfather in a new way, one should def read this.

The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


A girl, on her ninth birthday, suddenly starts to taste the feelings of the maker of the food she eats, and it turns her life upside down.
Yes, I do realize I'm just copying off the blurb. Bear with me.

The story centers more about her feelings towards her dysfunctial family and how she deals with the knowledge she discovers with her new 'skill, than her the skill itself. It's sweet, and just a little bit sad, and the way the food is described adds a little interest the whole narrative. The writing style is fluid, the characters are interesting, and the title is awesome. (view spoiler)[ The only gripe I have is that I couldn't figure out what happened to Joseph. I don't know if it was meant to be mysterious or if I'm just slow, but I really wanted to understand what happened to him. If anyone gets it, do let me know. (hide spoiler)]

In short, I liked this book. It didn't rock my world, but I liked it.







I'm totally catching up, aren't I?